Inbound Sales: Taking Social Selling Even Further

Recently, we published a blog post about the importance of social selling and how to make sure you’re hitting the mark. Inbound marketing means being where you buyers are and social selling is still only one piece of that pie. Afterall, social selling isn’t the only way to bring in Leads and for some buyer personas it may not be right at all. With that in mind, here’s four tips to take social selling one step further and make sure it aligns with the inbound marketing methodology:

Don’t Replace Other Sales Methods

Social selling is strictly in addition to other methods, so don’t use it to replace reaching out to Leads via email or phone call. Your landing pages should still be collected valuable information on your Leads. Don’t let this go to waste by trying to contacted them on LinkedIn when they gave you their direct email address.

Keep Everything Genuine

Social selling is about curating and sharing content. Setting up all of your salespeople’s social accounts to share the same piece of content at the exact same time looks inauthentic and won’t do you any favors. Don’t forget about the social part of social sharing, it can’t be automated.

Use it Moderately

As with other aspects of inbound marketing, like the usage of smart content, social selling works best in moderation. If you favorite, retweet, share, or comment on every single post someone puts out, you are no longer following the inbound methodology. Social selling is not a new way of spamming or bothering people, it’s a way to naturally build relationships with potential customers.

It Isn’t Just About Sales

If you’re using Twitter direct messages to send your sales pitch to people who have never heard of you, you’re doing it wrong. Inbound marketing is about nurturing relationships over time. Connect with your potential buyers on social media, then educate, delight, and inform them. It is very possible that the relationship may take some time to fully convert; inbound marketing & sales is a marathon, not a sprint.

Social selling is one part of inbound sales, but it is a part that is becoming more and more important as potential customers are becoming more empowered with their choices. Sales has changed in the past decade to include a necessary digital component; that’s inbound sales. Don’t let valuable potential customers slip away because you aren’t sure how to keep your sales techniques fresh. Download our free eBook Mastering Social Media for Business and you’ll be well on your way to maximizing your own social selling ability and making sure it aligns with the rest of your inbound methodology.